Like most people, I was introduced to the brilliance of Allen Toussaint through hits by other artists.
Hearing his suggestive production on Labelle's lurid "Lady Marmalade" and Robert Palmer's downright nasty version of his song "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley" exposed me to the concepts of prostitution and adultery when I was an impressionable kid.
I would later binge on Toussaint's monstrously funky collaborations with New Orleans vocalists like Lee Dorsey and Ernie K-Doe and I heard a lot of colorful Toussaint stories from record clerks and buyers when I represented his NYNO record label in a territory that included New Orleans in the '90s.
Toussaint's impeccably formal demeanor and elegant presentation during his concerts at the Folly Theater in 2010 and 2014 contrasted starkly with the vignettes of street life associated with his work in the 1960s and 1970s. Discovering that the man responsible for a large swathe of the sultriest American music looked and acted like an investment banker was shocking.
I reviewed his concerts at the Folly Theater in 2010 and 2014. Tim Finn quotes one of those critiques in a tribute to the great man.
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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.
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I wrote an extended concert preview about Murs.
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My enthusiastic notes about a concert of egghead jazz by Drew Williams and John Blevins is posted at Plastic Sax.
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Phil Taylor, the former drummer of Motorhead, has died.
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Gene Norman once yelled at me on a regular basis. The entrepreneur died last week. I’m saddened by his passing.
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The chorus of Tech N9ne’s ”PBSA” is unfortunate.
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Steddy P made a video for ”Perfect”.
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The video for Shades of Jade’s ”That One” looks as if it's sponsored by a PR firm representing Kansas City’s Crossroads district.
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Counterparts’ performance at Aftershock on Saturday looked and sounded almost exactly like this. Acacia Strain and Fit for an Autopsy also spurred miniature riots. In spite of the chaos, I witnessed only two injuries and a single ejection. And since I established an unfortunate precedent in my notes about Arlo Guthrie’s concert last month, it’s only fair to note that vape smoke, passed gas, spilled beer and blood-streaked sweat made the show the smelliest concert I’ve attended in 2015.
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The wondrous tracks on The Cutting Edge 1965-1966 remind listeners that Bob Dylan has always been a tinkerer.
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Angie Stone’s enchanting Dream is RIYL: The Supremes, real life, the Honey Cone.
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I’d better not hear any of the people who are extolling Grimes' Art Angels disparage the similar output of Justin Bieber.
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D-Stringz, the latest collaboration between Stanley Clarke, Bireli Lagrene and Jean-Luc Ponty, makes me drowsy.
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I’ve always had a weak spot for Pieces of a Dream. All In is RIYL: candlelight, Najee, wine.
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Bobby Caldwell’s new Cool Uncle project makes me smile. RIYL: Freddie Jackson, step dancing, Boz Scaggs. Here’s ”Never Knew Love Before”.
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I recently came across footage of a 75-minute performance by Henry Threadgill’s Zooid.
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Boots was fantastic when he opened for Run the Jewels at the Midland theater last month, but his new album Aquaria doesn’t do much for me.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
3 comments:
No way did Allen Toussaint remind me of an investment banker. Thems almost fighting words.
And I am glad to see Bobby Caldwell back in action.
bgo
Off topic for this post, but you should check out the new Milford Graves / Bill Laswell recording.
bgo
Thanks for the Graves tip, BGO. I hadn't heard about it.
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